Free Web NovelChapter 29: Serpent Lord Njord
A prince could afford many mistakes. Trust was rarely one of them.
~ Rebel Beast
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"Your Highness?"
The driver Venus had arranged for Caelis was already waiting at the designated spot.
Giving him a once-over, Caelis scrutinized the serpent intensely. He trusted his people, but trust and caution were two different things. The dragons had spent years looking for a way to get rid of him. It wasn’t impossible that one of them had finally found someone weak enough to exploit.
"What is a serpent’s greatest weapon?" Caelis asked the secret question.
Only those personally vetted by Venus would be able to answer correctly without guesswork.
"Patience," the driver answered confidently.
Good for him. Even a moment of hesitation would have cost him his life.
A satisfied look crossed Caelis’ face as he pulled the passenger door open and stepped inside. Moments later, the driver entered as well, started the engine, and guided the vehicle onto the road.
The drive was a silent one. Caelis had no interest in conversation, and the driver knew better than to initiate one. This would likely be the first and last time they ever met. Venus rotated the drivers frequently, the same way he changed passwords.
Most of the other beasts considered him paranoid, but when you spent your life being hunted, trust became a luxury you could never afford.
Caelis’ heart began to race, knowing that every kilometer covered brought him closer to his father. Yet years of serpent instincts allowed him to lower his heart rate at will. Within seconds, his pulse slowed until it was barely noticeable.
Just like that, he buried his emotions as well. It was only a visit. Whatever happened would happen.
Turning his attention to the window, he watched the scenery blur past in streaks of light and shadow. Humans were not entirely useless after all. They were surprisingly good at inventing things.
Take the car for instance. It would have taken him hours to crawl all the way to his father’s estate serpent form. Instead, the vehicle devoured the distance with ease.
Unfortunately, that was where most of his appreciation for humans ended. Give them an inch and they always wanted more. More power. More control. They stepped into a place and immediately sought dominion over it, reshaping everything around them to suit their needs.
That was precisely why they would never be allowed to rule. The beasts would not bow to creatures they considered beneath them.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at the city’s metropolis. Unlike human cities that gradually wound down after dark, the beast districts were only just coming alive.
The streets remained crowded despite the late hour. Neon signs illuminated towering buildings with streams of vehicles flowing through the roads. Winged beasts crossed the skies overhead, some returning home from work while others were only beginning their shifts. The nightlife belonged to predators after all.
Restaurants remained open with customers occupying outdoor seating areas. Delivery riders darted between lanes carrying orders. Clubs pulsed with music behind brightly lit entrances. A group of young wolf shifters laughed loudly as they exited a gaming center while several eagle shifters perched on the balconies of nearby buildings, engaged in heated conversations.
Life.
That was the easiest way to describe it. The city breathed with it. To an outsider, it would have appeared as though every species lived together in perfect harmony.
Except the reality was far more complicated. Their old grudges did not disappear simply because they shared the same streets.
With dragons claiming much of Bestiaris City, it meant serpent shifters were rarely welcome in districts controlled by dragon households. Most dragons wouldn’t even deny it publicly.
The prejudice was real.
Dragon-owned businesses would have happily refused to hire serpents altogether if not for one inconvenient problem. They needed workers.
Unfortunately, discrimination still existed.
Serpents were often paid less than their counterparts despite performing the same jobs. Promotions mysteriously found their way to other winged creatures first. Then there was the bullying. The insults, exclusion and constant reminder that they were unwanted in dragon owned enterprises.
As a result, most serpents preferred supporting their own. Serpent-owned businesses hired serpent workers. Serpent families shopped at serpent establishments. Their money circulated through their own communities whenever possible.
Still, every now and then there was always a serpent or two willing to work for dragon enterprises. Usually because the pay was better and survival came before their pride.
King Darius had spent years trying to build bridges between the species and promote unity throughout the city. Sadly, the unity was easier to preach than enforce.
There was only so much a king could do, and no matter how fair his policies appeared, many serpents believed his loyalties would always lean toward the dragons who support him the most.
Trust was difficult to earn and even harder to keep.
The vehicle continued through the city before eventually crossing an invisible boundary. The difference was immediate.
Dragon banners disappeared from buildings and serpent insignias replaced them. The architecture changed as well as the roads were quieter, the buildings lower and wider. They had entered the serpent-controlled residential district, the noise of the city fading behind them.
The roads curved gently through the neighborhood, winding between rows of elegant houses. The buildings were long and graceful, their architecture emphasizing flowing lines instead of sharp edges with balconies curving around the corners. Silver and emerald colors dominated the district.
Eventually, the residence of the Serpent King came into view, and even after all these years, the sight still made people stare.
The estate sat atop a gentle rise overlooking much of the district, the structure stretching across an enormous portion of land, rivaling some of the smaller dragon compounds.
His father never spared any expense. Half the reason for the residence’s existence was to remind the dragons that the Serpent Court could afford their own luxury too.
The road leading toward the estate seemed endless. Tall trees lined both sides of the path, their branches arching overhead to form a natural tunnel. Decorative lanterns illuminated the route while perfectly trimmed hedges stretched as far as the eye could see.
Eventually, they arrived before the wrought-iron gates. The gates themselves stood nearly two stories tall and at their center was the crest of House Cobryn. Two silver Cobras intertwined around a crown.
The guards immediately recognized them and the heavy gate swung open. The car rolled forward.
Fountains greeted visitors on either side of the entrance. The water cascaded down the stone sculptures while carefully maintained gardens surrounded the circular driveway. Several luxury vehicles were already parked nearby, suggesting his father had entertained guests earlier.
The driver brought the car to a stop and Caelis stepped out.
The estate looked even larger from up close.
Marble columns supported the entrance while white-veined stone stretched across the exterior walls. Servants moved quietly through the grounds, maintaining the appearance of perfection expected from the residence of the Serpent Lord. Nothing was ever allowed to look imperfect here.
Nothing.
Caelis entered through the grand doors, and as expected, the interior was every bit as excessive as the exterior. Crystal chandeliers hung from impossibly high ceilings. Expensive paintings lined the walls while the marble floors reflected the lights above like mirrors.
Then his eyes landed on the centerpiece of the main hall.
A massive statue.
The sculpture depicted a colossal basilisk coiled around a dragon. The serpent’s body constricted tighter and tighter around the dragon’s frame while the creature struggled beneath it. One fang hovered inches from the dragon’s throat as though victory was only moments away.
It was impossible to miss the symbolism which was the serpent conquering the dragon. The future his father dreamed of.
Caelis grimaced. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"You are ten minutes late."
The voice echoed through the hall.
Caelis looked up. His father was descending the grand staircase, and he took a good look at the man who birthed him.
Njord Cobryn possessed a cruel sort of beauty.
Everything about him was sharp.
Sharp cheekbones. Sharp jawline. Sharp green eyes that seemed capable of cutting through a person’s thoughts before they even spoke. Age had touched him lightly despite the decades behind him.
He looked far younger than he had any right to, carrying himself with the same dangerous elegance that had made him infamous throughout the beast territories.
The resemblance between father and son was unmistakable.
They shared the same aristocratic features, the same predatory stillness, and the same unnerving habit of staring at people until they became uncomfortable.
But that was where the similarities ended.
While Caelis possessed silver hair and silver eyes, Njord’s hair was a striking shade of gold, falling neatly around a face that seemed carved from stone. Where Caelis often concealed his emotions behind a mask, Njord appeared to have discarded his entirely.
If there was one thing they truly shared, it was the coldness. The difference was that Caelis still had moments where the ice cracked.
Njord never did.
The Serpent Lord moved with such measured grace, his dark robes flowing behind him until he came to stand before his son. The two of them faced each other in silence, though Caelis stood a head taller.
"I’m sorry."
Those were the words a normal son would have said. Unfortunately, Njord Cobryn had spent years teaching him that apologies were little more than admissions of failure.
So Caelis buried the words before they could leave his mouth.
"I was tied up at the academy."
